Psalm 120 w Commentary

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Psalm 120 Commentary by Dr Noel Donnelly

Psalm 120 is one of the 15 psalms which have a title, “A Song of Ascent” or “A Song of Steps”. Our Psalm 120 is one of them. These psalms were designated to be sung on the pilgrim way to Jerusalem, step by step, up to Jerusalem for the great annual feasts of Passover, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Psalm 120 is shaped as a dialogue between pilgrim and an accompanying priest. The pilgrim asks a question: “I lift up my eyes to all these mountains. From where shall I receive help?”

The answer comes in the rest of the psalm. “From the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth!” Six times in these eight verses the word “guard” is applied to God. Interestingly, the Hebrew gives a “staircase” structure to the response of the priest.  The composer of the psalm has had some fun: he uses the last word in each line as the first word in the next. This is called a “staircase structure” and it matches nicely the context of the pilgrim going up the steps to Jerusalem, with a nice rhythm to his or her steps!

The important message however is that God is a guard, a protector. God shields the pilgrim from the fierce heat of the sun, but also from any strike from the moon. If you were moon-struck then you were supposed to have been afflicted with ailments of body and mind by exposure to the moon. As you probably know, we get our word “lunatic” from the Latin word for moon, “luna”. But the psalm also reminds us that the Lord will not sleep like the other fertility gods who were supposed to sleep in winter when there was no growth in the fields.

The final verse says, “The Lord will protect your going and your coming, both now and forever!”

I’m reminded here of the practice of our Jewish friends who have a little mezuzah on their doorposts at home. This little brass object contains the schema or faith-text which recalls the presence of God. People touch it reverently as they come and go.

May I suggest that our Jewish elder brothers and sisters have a lot to teach us as we come and go in our daily steps …. a message even for those keen health watchers among us who use a pedometer as they aim for ten thousand steps a day!

Our Psalm 120 has an introductory title, “A psalm of Steps!”  I feel like singing “step we gaily on we go, heel for heel and toe for toe … …”

Ps 120: Guard me, Lord, Enfold me in peace. Bless your servant, Lord. (Noel Donnelly setting)

I look up to the hills on high.  Where can I find help?

Lord of the Earth!  Lord of the Skies!  come down, enfold me in peace.

All my help comes from God the Lord, who made heav’n and earth.

He does not fail, He stays awake.  Guards me, surrounds me with Love.

God protector of Israel never sleeps on guard.

Be at my side!  Guard me with love Lord, in your shadow I lie.

From all evil He keeps me safe.  He will guard my soul.

No sun by day, no moon by night.  Nothing can harm where I lie.

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b  Catherine Walker setting: